ROYAL PAIN: Peter Dinklage, who’s terrific as Tyrion Lannister, can’t put off his pressing family issues any longer — a father that hates him and a smudgy line of succession.

ROYAL PAIN: Peter Dinklage, who’s terrific as Tyrion Lannister, can’t put off his pressing family issues any longer — a father that hates him and a smudgy line of succession. (
)

ROYAL PAIN: Peter Dinklage, who’s terrific as Tyrion Lannister, can’t put off his pressing family issues any longer — a father that hates him and a smudgy line of succession. (
)

‘Game of Thrones,” from the mega-bestselling series of novels, “A Song of Ice and Fire” by George R.R. Martin, explodes back onto the small screen Sunday night.

The iconic series is so extravagant it makes “The Borgias” look like it was done on the cheap. It’s also so complicated that the families here make the entire Borgia clan look like a bunch of simpletons playing a game of hearts instead of the real-life game of thrones — the one for the Vatican.

And the deviance of the controlling family, the Lannisters, makes the Roman families of old look like puritans.

But all is possible — and impossible — here in Martin’s fantasy world of the Seven Kingdoms on the continent of Westeros, where evil is rewarded, goodness is crushed, vowels are rare and every woman has phenomenal boobs.

Season 3, which is based on Martin’s 1,000- page book, “A Storm of Swords,” covers part of the book’s beginning with an incident involving the Night’s Watch.

We also get to know more about the Wildings as Jon Snow (Kit Harington), traveling with Ygritte (Rose Leslie), seeks to be accepted by those Beyond the Wall.

He is brought by Ygritte to her father, the tall-talker, Tormund Giantsbane (Kristofer Hivju). Giantsbane reluctantly takes Snow in (or “out” as the case may be since they live in tents in massive amounts of snow) but tells him he’s more than happy to rip his guts out through his throat if he should ever be caught lying.

New this season is the leader of the Wildings, Mance Rayder (Ciaran Hinds) — who looks more like he belongs Beyond the Wall than he did in the White House in the ridiculous series, “Political Animals.”

Rayder has united the Wildings and created the largest army yet. Meantime, the Night’s Watch — the only real barrier between the Wall and the Wildings — has been forced to retreat.

As expected, things are as brutish as ever in the Seven Kingdoms, and violence and vile behavior continue to escalate in the houses of power within them, especially in the powerful House of Lannister.

Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage, hands down the most compelling actor on the series) confronts his father, Tywin (Charles Dance) — the most powerful lord in the lands — seething that the old man never visited him or acknowledged his bravery in the last battle. On Sunday night he presents his demands, including his desire to preside over Castlelee.

Yeah, well good luck with that. Tywin — who hates his son, not only because he is a dwarf, but also because his wife died giving birth to him — dresses him down. Tyrion, usually a whore-mongering deviant, shows up well against the old man, and, despite the total and really nasty rejection, his mind stays as sharp as ever. Good for him, but really bad for him, I fear.

And the blond and glorious Daenerys Targaryen? She’s reunited with her adolescent dragons as she searches for allies to take back her land.

Not as much sex as you may be used to, but plenty of action, and enough complexities to keep geeks, geniuses and fans glued to the strange and wonderful world of the Seven Kingdoms all spring.